Annual Salvadorian Parade Turns Bergenline Blue

Bergenline Avenue was packed with residents and visitors dressed in bright blue and waving Salvadorian flags for the second annual Salvadorian Parade on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017. Mayor Nicholas Sacco was honored as a special guest and marched alongside Commissioner Julio Marenco, Freeholder Anthony Vainieri, Police Chief Robert Dowd, and hundreds of jubilant participants.

The parade kicked off with speeches and presentations at the corner of Bergenline Avenue and 79th Street and proceeded south to 43rd Street in Union City, passing through Guttenberg and West New York. Spectators hung from windows and crowded the sidewalks to cheer on the marching bands, floats, cheerleaders, decked-out vehicles, and elaborately costumed dancers.

Among the many notables marching in the parade were Salvadorian Ambassador to the U.S. Claudia Canjuri, Consul Ana Lorena Siria de Lara, Vice Consul Walter Antonio Gonzalez Castaneda, parade founder Cory Flores, Parade President Ingrid Echeveria, Vice President Ana Rubi, Parade Godmother Blanca Molina, radio host Oscar Ramirez, Steve Russo, and Gladys Flores. Other local mayors joining in the festivities were West New York’s Felix Roque and Union City’s Brian Stack, the parade grand marshal, along with Guttenberg Councilman Wayne Zitt and West New York Commissioners Cosmo Cirillo, Susan Colocurcio, and Gabriel Rodriguez.